FRISCO, Texas — Mandatory minicamp kicked off on Tuesday morning as the entirety of the Cowboys roster was in attendance for the team activities, including eight-time Pro Bowler Zack Martin who was working mainly on the sideline throughout the day.
Martin leads an offensive line group for the Cowboys that has some solidified pieces in multiple spots, but also some question marks in others, but he has continued to reaffirm the importance of new offensive line coach Mike Solari in the room and what he has been able to bring to bridge the gap with the group.
"It's been great," Martin said about Solari's presence. "His resume speaks for itself in some guys and teams that he's coached. Just his consistent energy everyday, it permeates throughout the room. I think that consistency will be huge for us and it will set an edge for our offensive line."
The offensive line looked different on Tuesday than what was thrown up front during OTAs as Tyron Smith was slotted back into his usual fit at left tackle while Tyler Smith was moved inside to left guard. For Martin, he values the importance of having different sets along the line in preparation for a potential need to shift around during the course of a 17-game season.
"I'm sure we'll do different combinations all the way through," he said. "That's in our history the last few years and it can really help our o-line. It's hard to keep all five guys on the field for 17 games. Those different combinations we're working with will really help us."
"You're not in the week of a game trying to get reps with guys, guys are continuing to get reps with each other. We got guys playing at tackle, at guard, at center, just playing different positions allows you to feel what the guy next to you is playing."
Not only has there been a change in leadership on the offensive line, but in the offense as a whole with Mike McCarthy taking over play-calling duties which Martin has said has allowed for communication to happen a lot more clearly.
"I think [McCarthy's] gonna bring an edge to the offense," he said. "The communication and the little details we've added this year are gonna allow everyone to be on the same page when we run plays. I think we're gonna do a lot of the same things."
"We got a lot of the same guys back and we've added great detail to a lot of the things we had last year. Mike has a great understanding of the stress points of every position and he's put a lot of emphasis on that so everyone knows what they're doing to make a play successful."
